This invention relates to a hepatocyte-growth agent which promotes growth of hepatocytes, more specifically to a hepatocyte-growth agent which comprises a polysaccharide or a derivative thereof and a hepatocyte-growth factor, in which said hepatocyte-growth factor is stabilized and further, its growth activity is heightened.
In recent years, a proteinaceous factor derived from humans, which can promote the growth of hepatocytes, namely, a human hepatocyte-growth factor (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "hHGF") has been found in the plasma of patients with fulminant hepatic failure (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 22526/1988). Further, there has been a proposed amino acid sequence and a gene (cDNA) sequence which codes hHGF protein (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 72883/1991), and a method for producing hHGF protein using this cDNA and a transformant thereof (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 285693/1991). It has been recognized that hHGF has mitogenic activity for hepatocytes in vitro.